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Humor for Young Adults vs. Humor for Children
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From: Megan Schliesman <Schliesman>
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:46:24 -0500
I've been trying to determine if there are any fundamental differences in the way humor is depicted in books for young adults vs. books for children and I'm wondering what others think.
In my mind, the humor in books for children is more often situational--outrageous or funny events--while young adult humor has an edge to it that is more about sarcasm, and self?precation, too, in the case of first-person narratives. I often have a sense, when reading funny YA novels told in the first-person voice, like Rob Thomas's Rats Saw Good or Chris Crutcher's Slot Machine (both of which have been mentioned already as among people's favorites), that the narrator is saying "I'm going to laugh at myself and my situation before anyone else can laugh at me." Like real kids, the humor for these narrators often masks pain or trauma, though it is still very real and very funny. I think sarcasm, especially, becomes an art among teenagers, and certain writers capture that art form well. It's a very real part of adolescence that I think kids recognize and appreciate in writing.
So on the one hand I think that YA humor tends to be more character-driven and voice-driven, while children's humor is, as I said, more situation-driven in my mind. But I'm not sure that my theory holds water. I can think of exceptions to each. William Sleator's Oddballs is a funny young adult book that derives its humor from both character and situation--indeed, the characters in some sense drive the sitautions. Sharon Creech's narrator in Absolutely Normal Chaos (which has both children's and young adult appeal) has a fresh, funny outlook that is not sarcastic but appealingly innocent and eager and wise all at once, and the author used The Odyssey as a device to extend the narrator's humor into her take on events in her life. My colleague Kathleen Horning helped me appreciate the humor imbedded in Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate, in which the mundane relationship between werewolf Vivian and Aiden takes on twist when viewed through the lens of the ultimate in teen werewolf rebellion: she is falling in love with a meatboy (human).
Are there any patterns or characteristics to young adult humor that you have noticed? What books do you appreciate that derive their humor from narrative voice? From situation?
Megan Schliesman Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education UW-Madison schliesman at mail.soemadison.wisc.edu
Received on Tue 26 May 1998 11:46:24 AM CDT
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:46:24 -0500
I've been trying to determine if there are any fundamental differences in the way humor is depicted in books for young adults vs. books for children and I'm wondering what others think.
In my mind, the humor in books for children is more often situational--outrageous or funny events--while young adult humor has an edge to it that is more about sarcasm, and self?precation, too, in the case of first-person narratives. I often have a sense, when reading funny YA novels told in the first-person voice, like Rob Thomas's Rats Saw Good or Chris Crutcher's Slot Machine (both of which have been mentioned already as among people's favorites), that the narrator is saying "I'm going to laugh at myself and my situation before anyone else can laugh at me." Like real kids, the humor for these narrators often masks pain or trauma, though it is still very real and very funny. I think sarcasm, especially, becomes an art among teenagers, and certain writers capture that art form well. It's a very real part of adolescence that I think kids recognize and appreciate in writing.
So on the one hand I think that YA humor tends to be more character-driven and voice-driven, while children's humor is, as I said, more situation-driven in my mind. But I'm not sure that my theory holds water. I can think of exceptions to each. William Sleator's Oddballs is a funny young adult book that derives its humor from both character and situation--indeed, the characters in some sense drive the sitautions. Sharon Creech's narrator in Absolutely Normal Chaos (which has both children's and young adult appeal) has a fresh, funny outlook that is not sarcastic but appealingly innocent and eager and wise all at once, and the author used The Odyssey as a device to extend the narrator's humor into her take on events in her life. My colleague Kathleen Horning helped me appreciate the humor imbedded in Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate, in which the mundane relationship between werewolf Vivian and Aiden takes on twist when viewed through the lens of the ultimate in teen werewolf rebellion: she is falling in love with a meatboy (human).
Are there any patterns or characteristics to young adult humor that you have noticed? What books do you appreciate that derive their humor from narrative voice? From situation?
Megan Schliesman Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education UW-Madison schliesman at mail.soemadison.wisc.edu
Received on Tue 26 May 1998 11:46:24 AM CDT
